Hiding Hero
by kittykruger
Summary: Every citizen of Hyrule knows that the Hero of Time has unmatched prowess in battle, charming looks, the ability to use any weapon he picks up and immeasurable courage in trying times, but how many know him as the child he is? Join him in a simple game of hide-and-seek with Zelda. Oneshot.


Every citizen of Hyrule knows that the Hero of Time has unmatched prowess in battle, charming looks, the ability to use any weapon he picks up and immeasurable courage in trying times. Most know of his charitable heart, humble background and forgiving nature. Only some know of his childish, almost innocent, way of seeing the world around him. Only a select few know of his ability to sneak around unseen and his mischievous personality. Today he decides to test his not-as-well-known attributes in a challenging and mind-boggling game of…

…hide-and-seek.

Link quieted his breathing as his eyes followed the form of the young princess Zelda through the small holes of the face guard. He mentally chuckled at the ingeniousness of his idea. Several suits of armour lined the hallways of the castle; they were all as empty as a goron's stomach. Zelda would never suspect that Link was hiding in one of the hundreds of statues standing on guard in the corridors of the castle… would she? He quickly pushed down his doubt as Zelda's form finished crossing his line of vision. He had long since learned not to underestimate Zelda's wisdom, but his hiding spot should at least last for a few minutes before she found him.

The soft steps of the princess had begun to fade when she called out, "Link, Link, are you there? Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

Link could only smile and keep standing as still as possible as Zelda's steps slowly got further and further away. A loud _crash_ resounded through the hallways, which was immediately followed by a "Nope, he's not in there," and, a few seconds later, "where _is_ he?"

Her question went unanswered. Soon, there was no trace of her or any other living being other than Link. If not for his quiet breaths echoing through the castle halls, he would have thought himself deaf. Minutes seemed to pass. If he wasn't mistaken, the sun even moved up a few notches. What was taking her so long? Link was sure that Zelda should have found him by now. Was his hiding spot really that good?

Even more time passed.

Link began to wonder of he was imagining things. It couldn't have been more than a few minutes, or he would have been found by now. The suit of armour was really starting to feel uncomfortable, and he was glad that he didn't pick one that had its hands up in a pose. They would have completely lost circulation by now.

His stomach grumbled, but Link couldn't figure out why. He just had just finished breakfast before agreeing to play. Maybe it _had_ been a while. He glanced over to a nearby window. It did seem as if it were brighter outside. He silently cursed himself for picking a hallway with windows that only faced west. How was he supposed to know this would take so long? The silence was getting to him. Wasn't Zelda supposed to find him?

His stomach grumbled again. It felt like he should have eaten lunch already. Link was no stranger to hunger, but castle life had gotten him comfortable to a strict eating schedule with plates upon plates of food at his disposal. Maybe Zelda had forgotten about him? No, she would never do such a thing.

He might have dozed off a few times, but he wasn't sure. At one point, he opened his eyes to see that the sunlight was, in fact, coming through a nearby window. That drew the line. He quickly slipped out of the suit of armour, no longer caring if he was heard.

Link stomped through the hallways until he came to the finely carved wooden double doors that signified the entrance to the dining hall. Screw Zelda and her games. He was a growing boy and he needed food _now_. He gave a quick nod to the soldier standing guard by the doors and leaned his shoulder against the door on the right, slowly but effectively opening the heavy door. As soon as the door was wide enough for him to slip through, he moved to enter only to freeze halfway through the door. There, sitting at the far end of the table in a chair much too grandiose and extravagant for a single person, was Princess Zelda Harkinian of Hyrule. She was holding a delicate teacup in her left hand and chatting amiably with her caretaker and advisor, Impa.

All thoughts of hunger forgotten, Link barged through the last bit of door and across the dining hall. He came right up to Zelda and tried his best not to say something he'd regret later. Impa was, after all, right beside him.

"Where have you _been_? I was standing there for hours, waiting and waiting and _waiting_, and you never found me!" He cried. "You normally find me within a few minutes!"

Of all the things she could have done, Zelda chose that moment to giggle. Then, as if that wasn't bad enough, she lightly tapped him on the shoulder and pronounced loudly, "I found you!"

Link gaped at her. What had just happened? "But..." He cast a pleading look to Impa, whose eyes were carefully monitoring the situation at hand. Link looked back to Zelda, but the pride showing in her eyes was too much. "...couldn't you have just looked for me?"

"Why would I? You just walked right up to me, as if on a silver platter. All _I_ had to do was wait for you to imprudently lose."

Link was at a loss for words. There was no need for them, because his stomach answered for him instead. It rumbled loud enough to hear from the other end of the room. At this, Zelda's triumphant expression turned to that of worry, and Link's visage changed to a deep shade of red.

"Oh, dear. When was the last time you ate, Link?" she inquired.

"Breakfast..." he muttered. Zelda's eyes widened.

"_Breakfast?_ Link, I though you would have come out and taken a snack! Dinner time has already come and gone! " Quickly she stood up and waltzed to a small side door used by the servants. She peeked in the door and called "Kitchen staff! I need one large bowl of pumpkin soup and a glass of milk as soon as you can make it!" She then closed the door and returned to her seat.

Impa, who had been sitting to the side watching the scene with amused eyes, turned to Link and demanded "And where is this hiding spot that outsmarted the great Princess Zelda of Hyrule, bearer of the triforce of _wisdom_?"

Before he could reply, Zelda huffed. "_He_ didn't outsmart _me_; _I_ outsmarted _him." _A servant entered from

Link smiled, then replied. "In a suit of armour in the west wing. The one with the big sword on its side."

"Great!" Zelda squealed. She stood and started to head for the big double doors, Impa close behind. "Now you can't hide there tomorrow!"

At that point, the servant placed a steaming bowl from one hand and a glass of milk from the other in front of Link. Every kitchen worker knew that pumpkin soup and milk were Link's two favorite foods, so there was no doubt as to who the food was for. Link seemed torn between answering Zelda and digging into his food, but his choice was made for him as the low _thump_ of the door closing signified her departure. He immediately grabbed his spoon and began shoving the still-steaming soup in his mouth. It was only after is bowl was completely empty and the last drop of milk gone hat he paused to fully consider Zelda's words.

"_Tomorrow?"_

_~.~.~_

**Hello, please tell me what you think! This is my first story, so any tips for improvement are very appreciated. Have any suggestions for another story? I'll take that, too! Thanks for reading!**


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